Staff Directory
To email a Justice Center staff member, click on the individual’s name and title.
Michael Thompson, Director
Michael Thompson has worked on criminal justice policy issues for nearly 20 years. He started with the Council of State Governments (CSG) in 1997 as a policy analyst and the sole staff person assigned to the criminal justice program for CSG's Eastern Regional Conference. Under his leadership, that program launched major projects in the areas of victim rights, criminal justice/mental health collaboration, and prisoner reentry. Since transforming the regional criminal justice program into the national CSG Justice Center, Mike designed the Justice Reinvestment Initiative and conceptualized the organization's work in school discipline. The Justice Center's work has prompted bipartisan legislative and programmatic initiatives in states across the country. Mike has authored numerous publications and testified before Congress on multiple occasions. He is routinely interviewed by national media outlets as a recognized expert on criminal justice issues. Prior to joining CSG, Mike worked for three years for the Office of the Court Monitor in San Juan, Puerto Rico—an office established by a U.S. District Court Judge. Mike received his B.A. with honors from Middlebury College.
Suzanne Brown-McBride, Deputy Director
Suzanne Brown-McBride has several years of experience promoting public safety and preventing victimization. She began her career working on behalf of sexual assault victims in 1991 as a community education specialist and crisis-line advocate. Before beginning her tenure as deputy director at the CSG Justice Center, she served as the executive director for two statewide victim assistance associations: the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault and the Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs. She acted as chair of both the California Sex Offender Management Board and the Washington State Department of Corrections Victims Council. Suzanne was also an appointee to The California Alliance to Combat Trafficking and Slavery and the Washington State Sentencing Guidelines Commission. She is a 2010 recipient of The Lois Haight Award of Excellence and Innovation, which honors a professional whose efforts have had a significant impact on local, state, national, or international public policy development and implementation that promote dignity, respect, rights, and services for victims of crime. She received her B.A. from Pacific University.
Saudia J. Abdullah, Program Associate, Reentry
Saudia J. Abdullah works with the National Reentry Resource Center to support grantee activities focused on reentry services. She has spent the past 14 years working in a variety of reentry programs, ranging from traditional probation/parole to cognitive behavioral day reporting centers. Previously, she served on the "What Works" Implementation team with BI Incorporated. She also served as program manager for the Transitional Jobs Pilot program in the state of Illinois. This program reached 99 percent of its goal in employing 700 IDOC parolees. Saudia is a graduate of Georgia Southern University, with a Bachelor of Science in justice studies. She is currently working toward her M.A. in public administration. She has also received training in the areas of gender-specific domestic violence facilitation, anger management facilitation, and motivational interviewing.
Saudia is based in the New York City office.
Andrew Barbee, Senior Researcher
Andrew Barbee will use his extensive background with the court and legislative processes to support the Justice Reinvestment projects in different states. Most recently, he was the senior researcher in the Texas Office of Court Administration, where he worked on a caseload study of the Texas courts. This study was used by the Texas legislature to determine the need for new courts in the state. He also worked in the Texas financial obligations report produced by that office in collaboration with us. Andy was also a manager in the System Forecasting Division of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, where he was responsible for the forecasts of the adult and child protective services populations and caseworker caseloads. His previous experience also includes a senior researcher position at the Texas Criminal Justice Policy Council, where he was responsible for developing the official adult correctional population projections for Texas and responsible for conducting impact analyses of legislation using the agency’s simulation model. Andy has an M. A. in Criminal Justice from Sam Houston State University.
Andrew is based in the Austin, Texas, office.
Anne Bettesworth, Policy Analyst, Justice Reinvestment
Anne Bettesworth is a policy analyst who helps advance the justice reinvestment initiative for the Justice Center. Her previous experience includes working as a policy associate in the Government Relations Office of the American Psychological Association, and as legislative staff for a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, both in Washington, D.C. She is experienced in drafting legislative language and policy recommendations, engaging in coalition building, and organizing meetings among policymakers. Anne has a B.A. in political science from the University of Washington and a master’s degree in public administration from The George Washington University.
Anne is based in the Seattle, Wash., office.
Alex Blandford, Program Associate, Mental Health
Alex Blandford is primarily responsible for courts-related projects and grantees for the Criminal Justice/Mental Health Consensus Project. Before joining the Justice Center, she was a project coordinator for the Institute for Evaluation Health Science in Community Health, housed in the Graduate School of Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh. She was involved with a variety of research projects, including one examining the Pittsburgh region’s emergency response to mental health crises, and another on the evaluation of the region’s Crisis Intervention Team training program for police officers. She holds a B.S. in French and a B.A. in psychology from the Pennsylvania State University and an M.P.H. in public health from the University of Pittsburgh.
Alex is based in the New York City office.
Renée Brackett, Logistics Coordinator
Renée Brackett has been with CSG since 2001. She plans and directs logistics, including hotel and meeting site selection, contract negotiations, and all related travel arrangements. She also serves as the executive assistant to the Director.
Renée is based in the New York City office.
Marshall Clement, Division Director, State Initiatives
Marshall Clement directs the CSG Justice Center’s justice reinvestment project, which assists policymakers seeking to increase public safety, reduce corrections spending, and improve conditions in the neighborhoods to which most people released from prison return. As part of this assistance, Marshall coordinates the work of a team of national experts to analyze corrections data and policy and develop policy options for state policymakers. He regularly facilitates meetings among judicial and state agency officials, and testifies before legislative committees in various states across the US. His findings have been used to inform policy initiatives in states that have enjoyed overwhelming bipartisan support. Before joining the Justice Center, Marshall was a policy researcher with the Rhode Island Family Life Center, a nationally recognized prisoner reentry program, where he worked on improving access to housing and TANF resources for individuals recently released from prison and jail. Marshall received his B.A. in Public Policy with honors from Brown University.
Marshall is based in the Seattle, Wash., office.
Robert Coombs, Senior Policy Analyst and Public Affairs Manager, Justice Reinvestment
Robert helps guide communications and policy strategies in Justice Reinvestment states by developing and executing a state-specific communications plan, developing key messages for each state, and engaging key stakeholders to assist in communicating those messages. In addition, Robert coordinates with the Justice Center's communications team on project-wide documents and the overall communication plan, and helps communicate successes in the states to government officials. Previously, he has worked at the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault, most recently as the director of public affairs and also served recently as the chair of the California Sex Offender Management Board, appointed by the governor. He holds a bachelor's degree in communication and a master's degree in organizational communication from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Robert is based in the Sacramento, Calif., office of CSG-West.
David D'Amora, Division Director, National Initiatives
David D'Amora oversees the policy framework and leads all active initiatives in the CSG Justice Center’s Criminal Justice/Mental Health Consensus Project. He works with legislators, consultants, researchers, analysts, scholars, practitioners, and policymakers to help raise the level of public awareness about critical criminal justice/mental health issues. His previous criminal justice and human services experience includes extensive work with men and women, adults and juveniles, and individuals with developmental disabilities and/or mental illnesses. David has provided training for criminal justice and mental health practitioners throughout the country, authored scholarly articles, and has implemented programs for persons with mental illness and behavioral health difficulties. In addition, he is an adjunct instructor in the Department of Sociology at Quinnipiac University. A licensed clinician, he holds a B.A. from Franklin College and an M.S. from Butler University.
David is based in the New York City office.
Nerisha Degale, Finance Assistant
Nerisha Degale is responsible for assisting with all financial-, grant-, and contract-related matters. Before joining the Justice Center, she was a tax processing specialist at Deloitte and Touche and was an assistant to the controller at Le Bernadin, Inc. She holds a B.B.A. in accountancy-finance from Boise State University.
Nerisha is based in the New York City Office.
Le'Ann Duran, Program Director, Corrections
Le'Ann Duran oversees efforts at the CSG Justice Center to improve the likelihood that people’s transitions from prison to the community are safe and successful. Before joining the CSG Justice Center, Le’Ann was the administrator of the Office of Offender ReEntry for the Michigan Department of Corrections, where she managed Michigan’s Prisoner ReEntry Initiative (MPRI). National experts have recognized MPRI, which has attracted more than $100 million in state, private, and federal funding, as one of the most advanced and comprehensive reentry initiatives in the United States. Le’Ann has been instrumental in the project’s success, coordinating a grassroots approach to building community capacity to receive people released from the state prison system. Before joining the Michigan Department of Corrections, she was a Senior Research Associate with Public Policy Associates in Lansing, Michigan, where she worked as a consultant to the Michigan Department of Corrections. Le’Ann received her B.S. from Texas Tech University, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude, and her M.S. from Colorado State University.
Le'Ann is based in the New York City office.
Danielle Edwards, Division Director, Finance
Danielle Edwards is responsible for overseeing all of the CSG Justice Center’s finances. She manages the Justice Center’s many grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, and budgets, as well as supervises associated finance staff. She also works with the director on strategic planning for the Justice Center. Prior to joining CSG, she was a Budget and Financial Analyst at Columbia University. Danielle received her B.A. from Boston University.
Danielle is based in the New York City office.
Alexa Eggleston, Program Director, Substance Abuse
Alexa Eggleston works with state and community-based providers of addiction and mental health services throughout the country to increase access to effective prevention, treatment, and recovery services for people with behavioral disorders who are involved with the criminal justice system. Before joining the Justice Center, Alexa served as director of public policy for the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare. In this position, she worked with community-based behavioral health systems to improve access and quality of care, advocated for federal appropriations to expand funding for prevention, treatment, and recovery services, and most recently advocated for passage of the Wellstone-Domenici Mental Health and Addiction Parity Act and the Second Chance Act. Through her position at the National Council, Alexa promoted policies and laws that support a public health response to addiction and works to strengthen linkages between community-based prevention, treatment, and recovery services and health care, criminal justice, and TANF/Welfare systems. Before joining the National Council, she was Director of National Policy at the Legal Action Center. Alexa received her law degree from the University of Maryland and her undergraduate degree from John Carroll University.
Alexa is based in the Bethesda, Md., office.
Mike Eisenberg, Research Manager
Mike Eisenberg manages the logistics and methodology of key research and evaluation projects in the areas of parole, probation, and substance abuse and mental health treatment programs. For the past 25 years he has directed complex research projects and has written analytical reports for policymakers and correctional administrators for the state of Texas, including work for the Criminal Justice Policy Council, Board of Pardons and Paroles, and Department of Criminal Justice-Parole Division. Most recently he served as Director of Research and Evaluation for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice-Community Justice Assistance Division. He has evaluated substance abuse treatment, mentally ill offender diversion programs, faith-based correctional programs, sex offender treatment, and employment and correctional education programs. Mike also has conducted technical assistance activities for state universities and national experts in Florida and Missouri. He received a B.A. and M.A. from the University of Texas at Austin.
Mike is based in the Austin, Texas, office.
Tony Fabelo, Division Director, Research
Tony Fabelo is in charge of designing, developing, and implementing a research agenda for the Justice Center. He also provides technical assistance to state and local governments to help them increase public safety and make more efficient uses of state and local taxpayer dollars. Before joining CSG, he was a senior research associate with the JFA Institute. He worked between 1984 and 2003 with the Texas Criminal Justice Policy Council, appointed by Governor Ann Richards to head this state research and evaluation agency in 1991. He continued to serve as director under Governor George W. Bush and Governor Rick Perry. During Tony's tenure on the council, he advised five governors from both sides of the aisle. In his different capacities in Texas he has assisted every legislature since 1985 in developing criminal justice policies, including crafting the major Justice Reinvestment initiative adopted by the Texas legislature in 2007. The US Attorney General appointed him to the Office of Justice Programs Science Advisory Panel in 2010. Tony received his B.A. in Political Science from Loyola University, and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin.
Tony is based in the Austin, Texas, office.
Hallie Fader-Towe, Program Director, Courts
Hallie Fader-Towe coordinates the Justice Center’s projects involving court-based programs and practitioners, including providing technical assistance through the Criminal Justice/Mental Health Consensus Project and the National Reentry Resource Center. She has written on dispute systems design for state trial courts and has worked on a variety of projects for courts in New York and Massachusetts, including problem-solving programs, strategic planning efforts, and a task force on litigants who represent themselves in court. Before joining the Justice Center, she worked in New York as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company. She received her B.A. from Brown University and her J.D. from Harvard Law School.
Hallie is based in the New York City office.
Shannon Fergus, Program Assistant, National Initiatives
Shannon Fergus is a program assistant in the National Initiatives Division. Before joining the Justice Center, Shannon worked as a legislative aide in the Ohio House of Representatives. In this role, she assisted with policy research and implementation, with a particular focus on state tax policy and economic development. Shannon also has worked on various political campaigns throughout Ohio. She received her B.A. from The Ohio State University, where she majored in political science, with a concentration in American politics.
Shannon is based in the New York City office.
Crystal Garland, Program Associate, Reentry
Crystal Garland works with the National Reentry Resource Center to support grantee activities focused on reentry services. Prior to joining the CSG Justice Center, Crystal volunteered with the Correctional Association of New York, visiting correctional facilities throughout the state to speak with staff and inmates regarding prison conditions. She received both her B.A. with honors and M.A. from Stanford University.
Crystal is based in the New York City office.
Michael Grant, Operations Manager
Michael has several years of experience in not-for-profit management and program design. Serving as a program analyst for The After-School Corporation, he developed the agency-wide payment and reporting procedures, collected site data, and managed the operations database. Additionally, he has significant experience as a fundraiser for major nonprofit organizations in New York City. As a policy analyst and researcher, he focused on urban issues and topics that affect low-income communities such as youth gun violence, criminal justice sentencing policy, and housing subsidies. For the capstone requirement of his graduate program, Michael collaborated with the Mayor’s Office to design and implement a youth-violence prevention symposium for grassroots organizations in New York City. He received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan and a Master of Public Administration from The City College of New York.
Michael is based in the New York City office.
Megan Grasso, Policy Analyst, Justice Reinvestment
Megan Grasso provides assistance to state policymakers in implementing justice reinvestment strategies. Prior to joining the CSG Justice Center, she served as a legislative analyst with the Office of Management and Budget and as a legislative aide for a New Jersey state senator. She received her bachelor’s degree with honors from Rutgers University and her master’s degree in public policy from the University of Maryland.
Megan is based in the New York City office.
Mary-Kathleen (Kati) Guerra, Program Associate, Substance Abuse
Kati Guerra works mainly with the National Reentry Resource Center to support grantee activities focused on family substance abuse treatment and co-occurring substance and mental health disorders. Previously, as a senior associate with the National Association of Counties in the County Services Department, Community Services Division, she worked on criminal justice technical assistance and education, working with various federal and foundation partners to bring justice assistance to counties. Ms. Guerra has worked on a diverse range of issues, including jail reentry, methamphetamine prevention, mental health and substance abuse co-occurring disorders, juvenile justice, and pretrial services. Kati graduated from the University of Maryland with a B.A. in criminal justice and is working toward an M.A. in criminal justice at the University of Maryland.
Kati is based in the Bethesda, Md., office.
Warren Hansen, Public Affairs Manager, Communications
Warren Hansen previously worked for two state-level political campaigns. He also was a public information officer for the Maryland State Comptroller. In addition, Warren has worked on Capitol Hill as a press secretary for a member of the U.S. Congress. He went on to become a community advocate for Interfaith Works, a nonprofit that serves the most vulnerable citizens of Montgomery County, Md. In that role, he led the organization's grassroots organizing and strategic communications efforts. Warren holds a B.A. in history and government & politics from the University of Maryland.
Warren is based in the Bethesda, Md., office.
Angel Ilarraza, Senior Policy Analyst, Reentry
Angel Ilarraza engages in strategic planning and consulting for the reentry field while also providing technical assistance and training for Second Chance Act grantees. Before joining the Justice Center, Angel was the reentry initiative coordinator for Tarrant County, TX, where he led efforts to strengthen the county’s capacity to better accept its reentry population. He also worked to promote the statewide reentry reform agenda on behalf of Tarrant County. His career as a criminologist has included serving as a faculty member in the Department of Criminal Justice at Texas Christian University; president of the Western Society of Criminology; and Criminal Justice research and evaluation consultant for USAID in El Salvador, Central America and, for the state government of Guanajuato, Mexico. Angel received his B.A. in sociology from Northland College, an M.A. in social change and urban development from Kansas State University, and his Ph.D. in criminology from Bowling Green State University in Ohio.
Angel is based in the Bethesda, Md., office.
Nicole Jarrett, Senior Policy Analyst, Mental Health
Nicole Jarrett works on the Criminal Justice/Mental Health Consensus Project team and provides support to some of the center’s health-related efforts. Most recently, Nicole served as the director of health policy research at the National Medical Association, where she worked on a variety of research and stakeholder projects on improving systems of care for underserved populations. Prior to that, she was a research and evaluation consultant to the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and the director of community health policy for the Baltimore City Health Department. Nicole received her B.S. in public health from Rutgers University and her Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University.
Nicole is based in the Bethesda, MD, office.
Stephanie Joson, Program Associate, Mental Health and Reentry
Stephanie Joson works on the Justice Center’s Criminal Justice/Mental Health Consensus Project and reentry projects, providing writing, research, and coordination support. She volunteers in Wyckoff Heights Medical Center's Violence Intervention and Treatment Program and at RightRides for Women's Safety, where she is the chair of the board and is very involved in strategic planning, fundraising, and general operations. Prior to her work with nonprofits, Stephanie worked in the fine art industry, managing archiving systems, Web and social media projects, print publications, and press relations for an art gallery. She received her B.A. from Fordham University and an M.P.A. from the School of Public Affairs at the City University of New York—Baruch College.
Stephanie is based in the New York City Office.
Leah Kane, Policy Analyst, Reentry
Leah Kane is a member of the CSG Justice Center’s government affairs, communications, and reentry teams. She is responsible for writing and reviewing publications on prisoner reentry and many related issues, and helps advance both legislative and media affairs initiatives. She also oversees the CSG Justice Center's work on reentry issues affecting youth in the juvenile justice system. Leah previously worked in the New York office of Congressman Jerry Nadler as his scheduler and staff assistant. Leah received her B.A. from Mount Holyoke College, her M.P.A. from the Maxwell School of Citizenship at Syracuse University, and her J.D. from George Washington University Law School, where she also co-founded and directed the Criminal Justice Reform Project, a pro bono initiative focused on expanding diversion and reentry programs for District of Columbia residents.
Leah is based in the Bethesda, Md., office.
Jason Karpman, Program Assistant, Mental Health
Jason Karpman provides support on the Justice Center’s Criminal Justice/Mental Health Consensus Project. Jason comes to the Justice Center from San Francisco, where he was a City Hall Fellow at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. In this role, he worked on the development and implementation of policy, including the translation of complex ordinances into user guides for citizens and businesses. Prior to that, he worked as a housing and community services coordinator and as a fair housing specialist. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of California-Berkeley, where he studied political economy with an emphasis in urban planning.
Jason is based in the New York City office.
Cynthea Kimmelman-DeVries, Policy Analyst, Mental Health
Cynthea Kimmelman-DeVries works with the Criminal Justice/Mental Health Consensus Project of the Justice Center. Previously, she was the director of administrative services with the Bronx Mental Health Court Program. Additionally, she has worked on projects dealing with juvenile waiver and reverse waiver, juvenile sex offenders, and advocacy for victims of violence and sexual assault. Cynthea has experience working on the front lines of mental health programs, in the development and utilization of data collection tools, in the coordination of field research, and in the development of curricula content. She received her B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and her M.S. in applied psychology and forensics from the University of Baltimore.
Cynthea is based in the New York City Office.
Whitney Kujawa, Program Associate, Law Enforcement
Whitney Kujawa works on projects that intersect with law enforcement. She comes to the CSG Justice Center after spending three years as a policy and training coordinator for the International Association of Chiefs of Police. In this capacity, she focused on working with police departments across the country to address firearm violence as part of the Gun Violence Reduction Initiative. Her work included tracking legislation, policy, and practice related to firearms violence at the local, state, and federal levels. Whitney's work included the successful development of collaborative efforts focused on law enforcement, legislators, and community leaders to improve citizen and officer safety in places where firearm violence is a critical issue facing neighborhoods or a collection of jurisdictions. Whitney has a bachelor's degree in criminology and Spanish from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Whitney is based in the Bethesda, Md., office.
Stephanie V. Little, Logistics Associate
Stephanie V. Little provides administrative support for the Justice Center and the Eastern Regional Conference. An experienced human resources professional, she has worked previously for Pierce Smartfusion, IOMEDIA, and ID Society, where she performed in a variety of capacities—including human resources management, administrative assistance and coordination, and event management. Stephanie attended Drexel University, where she studied film and video production.
Stephanie is based in the New York City office.
Amin Montgomery, Program Assistant, Justice Reinvestment
Amin Montgomery provides support for the justice reinvestment initiative. Before joining the Justice Center, Amin served as a member of AmeriCorps VISTA in New York City. In this capacity, he helped to implement a $2 million grant from the USDA that was designed to reduce hunger citywide. In addition, he established a community network of food pantries in the South Bronx to promote government assistance initiatives on building financial literacy and healthier eating. He has also worked as a Research Diversity Fellow at the American Bar Foundation in Chicago. He holds a B.A. in political science with honors from the University of Washington.
Amin is based in the Seattle, Wash., office.
Jamal Nelson, Government Affairs
Jamal Nelson joined the CSG Justice Center’s government affairs team in February 2009. Prior to joining the center, Jamal served as deputy director of Intergovernmental Affairs at the U.S. Department of Commerce, where he worked on international trade issues. He has a wealth of experience in working with Capitol Hill on policy matters. Jamal received his B.S. in Political Science from Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, Conn.
Jamal is based in the Bethesda, Md., office.
Blake Norton, Division Director, Local Initiatives
Blake Norton serves as an advisor and technical assistance provider on Justice Center projects that focus on law enforcement issues and community partnerships. Before joining the center, Blake spent more than 18 years with the Boston Police Department, where she helped shape the agency’s prisoner reentry efforts and successfully worked with citizens and faith-based organizations to advance consensus-based strategies for improving public safety. She designed and managed the police department’s community affairs activities, including programs for court-involved and at-risk youth. She received her B.A. from the University of Massachusetts and her M.Ed from Boston University.
Blake is based in the Bethesda, Md., office.
Jenny O'Brien, Office Manager
Jenny O’Brien assists the government affairs, communications, law enforcement, and health systems and services groups. She previously worked for DC-based private and nonprofit organizations, managing human resources and administrative operations at the senior management level. Jennifer attended Boston College and the University of Maryland, and majored in special education.
Jenny is based in the Bethesda, Md., office.
Fred Osher, Division Director, Behavioral Health
Fred Osher, M.D., oversees the health components of the CSG Justice Center's initiatives. He also provides technical assistance to state and local governments across the country seeking to improve their response to people who have mental health and/or substance use disorders and are involved in the criminal justice system. Before joining the CSG Justice Center, Fred served as the Director of the Center for Behavioral Health, Justice, and Public Policy and as an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He has published extensively in the areas of homelessness, community psychiatry, co-occurring mental and addictive disorders, and effective approaches to persons with behavioral disorders within criminal justice settings. He received his B.A. from Harvard University and his M.D. from Wayne State University.
Fred is based in Charleston, S.C.
Jennifer Pealer, Senior Policy Analyst, Justice Reinvestment
Jennifer Pealer is a senior policy analyst with the justice reinvestment project at the CSG Justice Center. Dr. Pealer works with criminal justice systems to implement data-driven policies and programs. Prior to joining the Justice Center, she was the Assistant Commissioner of Research and Program Development for the Kansas Juvenile Justice Authority where she was responsible for developing, implementing, and overseeing evidence-based practices, programs, and training agendas. Dr. Pealer has served as a consultant to many correctional programs throughout the United States by providing training and technical assistance in offender risk/need instruments and effective practices in risk reduction. She earned her B.A. and M.A. in criminal justice from East Tennessee State University and her Ph.D. in criminal justice from the University of Cincinnati.
Jennifer is based in Johnson City, Tenn.
Marc Pelka, Senior Policy Analyst, Justice Reinvestment
Marc Pelka assists state policymakers in implementing justice reinvestment strategies. Before joining the Justice Center, Marc served as a press aide in the Connecticut House of Representatives and subsequently as a policy aide to the Speaker of the House. His duties consisted of legislative research, planning, and coordination, with a concentration on policy before the Judiciary Committee. Marc received his B.A. with honors from New York University and his M.P.P. in criminal justice policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Marc is based in the New York City office.
Martha Plotkin, Director, Strategic Initiatives
Martha Plotkin develops and coordinates the CSG Justice Center’s communications strategies, which include reaching out to the media, developing publications, and building partnerships with other organizations to increase national attention to key issues. She also works with staff on projects related to law enforcement policy issues and designs new projects for the program. Martha, an attorney, previously worked as the director of communications and legislative affairs at the Police Executive Research Forum, a nonprofit membership organization of law enforcement leaders. She has written extensively on public safety issues and has directed research and training projects in such areas as homelessness and elder abuse. Martha received her B.A. from Brandeis University, and her J.D. from the George Washington University National Law Center.
Martha is based in the Bethesda, Md., office.
Shawn Rogers, Policy Analyst, Reentry
Shawn Rogers is currently creating a Reentry Dashboard that will help policymakers assess their state's reentry plan. Shawn also oversees the CSG Justice Center's reentry work related to risk and need assessments and options for jurisdictions looking to increase housing capacity for recently released individuals. Before joining the Justice Center, Shawn worked as a research associate for the Citizens Budget Commission in New York, where he analyzed state fiscal issues-in particular, the impact state fiscal policies had on the city of New York. Shawn began his career in policy analysis at the Bighorn Center in Denver, Colorado, working on issues ranging from voting rights to alternative sentencing for nonviolent drug offenders. He received his B.A. from Kansas State University and his M.P.P. from the University of Denver.
Shawn is based in the New York City office.
Hank Rosen, Program Associate, Reentry
Hank Rosen primarily works with the Reentry Project team, helping coordinate and deliver technical assistance to Second Chance Act grantees through the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s National Reentry Resource Center. In this capacity, Hank works directly with grantees as they work to implement successful reentry programs. Hank also spends time working with the Consensus Project team on overlapping projects, and generally provides project support as needed. He received his B.A. from Middlebury College in 2009, with a focus in psychology.
Hank is based in the New York City office.
Matthew Schwarzfeld, Public Affairs Manager, Communications
Matt Schwarzfeld coordinates media strategies, writes policy documents, and edits project newsletters for the Criminal Justice/Mental Health Consensus Project and the National Reentry Resource Center. He worked for the Justice Center previously as a policy analyst on law enforcement projects and coordinated work on project websites. His background is in public policy and media. He has an M.A. in journalism from New York University and a B.A. in American Studies from Wesleyan University in Connecticut.
Matt is based in the New York City office.
Jennie Simpson, Policy Analyst, Law Enforcement
Dr. Jennie Simpson works on the CSG Justice Center’s law enforcement projects. She will be engaged in initiatives to improve police encounters with people with mental illnesses and to help law enforcement executives assess and improve their agency’s role in prisoner reentry. Jennie has focused past efforts on law enforcement research and policy. Her doctoral research examined the impact of urban development projects on police officer interactions with homeless individuals with mental illness in Washington. D.C. Her previous work experience included editing and writing publications. She received her B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin and her M.A. and Ph.D. in anthropology from American University in Washington, D.C.
Jennie is based in the Bethesda, Md., office.
Casey Sisco, Grants Manager
Casey Sisco is responsible for developing, implementing, and administering all aspects of the CSG Justice Center’s grants, contracts, and compliance monitoring. He has nine years of experience working in grants and contracts management, most recently as the contracts manager for Research & Sponsored Programs at Weill Cornell Medical College. He received his B.A. in psychology from Rutgers University and his M.P.A. from the Baruch College School of Public Affairs, The City University of New York.
Casey is based in the New York City office.
Emily Turner, Policy Analyst, Courts
Emily Turner works on the CSG Justice Center’s Courts Program, focusing on court-ordered financial obligations and legal considerations in reentry courts. Before joining the Justice Center, Emily worked as a research associate with the Prosecution and Racial Justice Program at the Vera Institute of Justice. Previously, Emily served as a law clerk in the Homicide Division of the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia, PA. While completing her graduate degrees, Emily was an executive editor of the Journal of Law and Social Change and interned for both the American Civil Liberties Union and the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia. Prior to graduate school, Emily spent three years working as a research assistant at the Urban Institute’s Justice Policy Center in Washington, D.C., where she focused on issues of violence reduction and prisoner reentry. Emily received her B.A. in sociology, M.A. in criminology, and J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.
Emily is based in the New York City office.
Jessica Tyler, Senior Research Associate
Jessica Tyler is responsible for designing and managing long-term research projects; conducting or assisting with data analysis; and writing research reports directed at national, state, and local elected officials and policymakers. Before joining the Justice Center, she was a senior researcher at the Texas Office of Court Administration, working on court and indigent defense research. Previously, she worked for MGT of America, a large national consulting company with offices in Austin. In that role, she worked on different criminal justice projects, including the assessment of police and corrections departments. In addition, she has taught criminal justice at the Austin Community College. Jessica has a B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin and holds an M.A. in public policy from the College of William and Mary and an M.A. in political science from the University of Houston.
Jessica is based in the Austin, Texas, office.
Nastassia Walsh, Policy Analyst, Reentry
Nastassia Walsh works with the National Reentry Resource Center to support grantee activities focused on providing services to people returning from prison. Prior to joining the CSG Justice Center, Nastassia was Research Manager at the Justice Policy Institute where she developed research and policy reports on a variety of criminal and juvenile justice topics, including pretrial issues, drug courts, the overrepresentation of people with mental illness, parole concerns, sex offense registries, juvenile transfers, and positive social investments. Her work was used by policymakers, practitioners, and advocates to improve criminal justice policies in states and localities. She holds a B.S. in psychology from Arizona State University and an M.A. in forensic psychology from Marymount University.
Nastassia is based in the Bethesda, Md., office.
Laura Zeliger, Policy Analyst, Reentry
Laura Zeliger is a policy analyst with the Justice Center's reentry program and the lead staff person providing support and technical assistance for the Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA) Project. Laura has significant experience working within the criminal justice field in statewide policy development. She has also been engaged in program development, coordination, and implementation at the community level. Prior to joining the Justice Center, Laura worked for the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, Office of Probation and Correctional Alternatives, where she provided technical assistance, oversight, and best practice recommendations to county probation departments. She secured and managed federal grant funds that supported efforts to improve community supervision of sex offenders. She also previously served as the executive director of The Center for Community Justice, a nonprofit, community-based agency. She received her B.A. from the State University of New York at Albany.
Laura is based in the New York City office.
In Memoriam
Jason John Bryl
The Council of State Governments Justice Center lost a valued colleague, Jason J. Bryl, on August 15, 2010. Jason was a research and data consultant who worked from the Austin, Texas, office. His work provided needed support to the organization and to the many policymakers looking for data-driven answers to difficult challenges in states across the nation. He was also a talented musician and was known for his commitment and sense of humor. A 1994 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he is survived by his wife and child. Jason was 41 and will be missed by the CSG family and the many individuals whose lives he touched.
The CSG Justice Center also draws on a diverse group of other expert consultants who bring extensive experience and insights to the Justice Center’s project work.